Hurricane Haley 2016
Hurricane Haley was an intense Cape Verde major hurricane that formed in early August 2016, during the hyperactive 2016 Atlantic hurricane season. Haley later peaked as a 145 MPH Category 4 hurricane that had no severe impacts on land, having resulted in no fatalities and only minor damages. Meteorological History The origins of Hurricane Haley trace back to a Cape Verde tropical wave that began pushing westward, away from Morocco, on August 7. The NHC monitored the system for tropical cyclogenesis as it passed to the south of Cape Verde, continuing to rapidly organize under a growing area of low pressure. On August 8, the westward tracking wave was classified as Tropical Depression ____ when its winds increased to 30 MPH, along with a drastic improvement in structure. The storm retained intensity without undergoing further intensification into the next day due to slow movement and low to moderate levels of wind shear. On August 10, the depression underwent further intensification into Tropical Storm Haley as the circulation began to expand while the circulation began to tighten under the core. Hours later, Haley rapidly intensified into a strong tropical storm when its winds were found to be 60 MPH, in addition to the formation of a pinhole eye. However, the storm's intensification halted until August 12 due to a slight increase in shear and dry air entrainment. On August 11, the eye feature in Haley's core dissipated as it began weakening, as the NHC later forecasted an extratropical transition the following day. However, atmospheric convection began to improve within the core again as the eyewall continued to organize substantially. Soon after, the eye appeared once again, and more organized and clearer than the previous time. Haley was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane an hour later after a recon flight recorded a ten millibar drop in pressure to 978, from 988 mbar. Soon after, the hurricane once again stalled in intensity as it picked up a torrid pace across the Central Atlantic, with a forward speed of 28 MPH. The structure continued to remain very well-defined as the core eye appeared to grow more circular in shape, with an increasing wind field. The following day, Haley showed possible landfall in Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands as a Category 2 storm, followed by weakening as it was forecasted to track over the Great Antilles by the NHC. However, while Haley continued to intensify to a Category 2 hurricane the following day with warnings in effect, the storm took an abrupt turn north, missing its projected landfall entirely. However, strong northernly flow mixed with moist, warm air triggered the formation of severe thunderstorms across much of the Virgin Islands and the Leeward Islands, some of which were tornadic in nature, causing the first-ever known Leeward Islands Tornado Outbreak, in which nearly thirty tornadoes and waterspouts were reported across a region extending from the US Virgin Islands to Barbuda, causing extensive damage. Haley, in addition to spawning deadly tornadoes across the Leeward Islands, produced extremely large swells and waves, often 50 feet in height due to Haley's intensity, of which crashed ashore Antigua, Barbuda, and Anguilla, disrupting boating activities and leading to a temporary suspension of all water-based activities. As the storm turned northward, dropping levels of shear and increasingly warm sea surface temperatures triggered explosive intensification as Haley intensified to 115 MPH - having become the fifth major hurricane of the season. The NHC issued rip tide warnings for both Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands as Haley passed well to the east. As Haley passed to the northeast of Turks & Caicos on its northward trek, the storm attained Category 4 status when an NHC Hurricane Hunters aircraft reported 140 MPH 1-minute sustained winds within the inner eyewall. Several hours later, Haley's windfield expanded by fifteen miles, adding to the already-enormous sixty-mile radius from which hurricane-force winds extended from the core. The storm's large and powerful circulation then encompassed an area stretching nearly 450 square miles. At 2135UTC the same day, Haley attained its peak intensity with 145 MPH winds, along with a steadily dropping pressure at 937 mbar. Soon after, massive upwelling within the inner eyewall imparted a massive weakening event, including a severe eyewall-replacement cycle. The storm underwent short bursts of intensification thereafter - having temporarily attained 80 MPH winds. Preparations Category:Cyclones